John Martins'
Amateur Radio from near Empire Michigan USA

Ham Radio is one of the greatest hobbies that a person can become involved with.

Meeting new friends, exploring technology and even helping others in times of need, that's part of the 'radio bug' that grows inside amateur radio 'Ham' operators.

Ham Radio is really multiple sub hobbies living within the overall umbrella that carries its name.

Many hams are content with just using voice communications in casual conversation, but many are attracted to digital non-voice modes, or even specialties like bouncing their signals off of the moon or meteors. Amateur Radio satellites orbit constantly and provide their own interesting communications attributes.

There are also hams who gravitate toward electronic experimentation and invention. The technical legacy of ham radio is deep and can be a great learning tool in our hi-tech world.

Some hams volunteer to assist in times of emergency or disaster. When the normal communications infrastructure fails, hams have been known to pitch in with ad-hoc communications to pass messages in times of true emergency need.